BIRD NEWS 



vestigations of Professor F. E. L. 

 Beal, of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture. 



■'Prof. Beal tells us that in the 

 stomachs of 141 California Jays, 

 ( Aphelocoma californica and Cyano- 

 citta stelleri) 35 per cent, of the 

 contents for the year consisted of 

 animal matter and 65 per cent, vege- 

 table, traces of egg shells were found 

 only in twenty-one stomachs; in an- 

 other series of 300 stomachs only 

 three contained egg shells, and two 

 only bones of birds." 



In a letter to the Editor, Prof. 

 Beal says: "I consider the bird as 

 rather too numerous for the best 

 economic conditions at present; but 

 as population increases and the woods 

 are cleared away it will naturally de- 

 crease in number. I do not, however, 

 believe in any such 'wholesale slaugh- 

 ter.' There is a right to every man 

 to protect his property from a nui- 

 sance, but as the President of the 

 Audubon Society says: " Many of 

 the hunters probably do not own a 

 foot of land and that privilege is 

 an entirely different affair from this 

 wholesale slaughter.' " 



in getting some excellent photos of 

 these gramophone concerts with their 

 antartic audience of of penguins." 



PENGUIN AND GRAMOPHONES 



Lieutenant Shackleton of "Farth- 

 est South" fame tells us "Amuse- 

 ments were not many but the gramo- 

 phone proved a great solace and was 

 much in demand. 



In the summer time we brought 

 out the machine to the penguin rook- 

 ery, close to our hut and hundreds 

 of the queer birds waddled out in 

 line and assumed almost human at- 

 titudes. 



They clearly expressed their as- 

 tonishment at "Waltz me around 

 again Willie" and it is only fair to 

 say this air seemed to offend some 

 of the older birds, who went off 

 with an air of disgust. I succeeded 



EGG OF AEPYORNIS MAXIMLS. 



We have received a most excellent 

 specimen of the egg of this great fos- 

 sil bird. These eggs are extremely 

 rare and are only found in the silt of 

 a certain river on the west coast of 

 the Island of Madagascar. This egg 

 was originally in possession of a na- 

 tive priest who attached to it not 

 only a great price but also some 

 "wonderous" charms which certainly 

 to him augmented its value. The 

 method of obtaining these eggs is 

 fraught with considerable danger. 

 Many of the natives refuse absolutely 

 to even search for them so much do 

 they fear the attempt. 



The eggs are burted in the river 

 silt. The native hunter takes a long- 

 shafted spear and probes deeply into 

 the silt, until he strikes some hard 

 substance. He is then compelled to 

 dive under the water and slowly and, 

 indeed, painfully scoop away the sand 

 and, if possible, reach the hard sub- 

 stance. When he has thus succeeded 

 it is most likely that he finds it is 

 only a pebble. Sometimes the hunter 

 will search a district for many con- 

 secutive months, and not even locate 

 a pebble. Owing to the presence of 

 numerous crocodiles the hunter is ex- 

 posed to additional danger and many 

 cases are recorded where the hunter 

 fell a victim to the big saurian whose 

 domain he had trespassed upon. 



This egg, probably one, if not the 

 last that will be found, was only ob- 

 tained after seven years of persistent 

 searching. 



A RARE KIRD ALBUM. 



The story of the Farallones tells 

 of the egg-hunters of these famous 

 rocks. Original notes and photos; 

 only a few copies left. 



